GA-EP35C-DS3R just recycles

The problem is at first, when started it would cycle between staying on for 5-6 seconds; stopping and then restarting. I took the board out of the case to assure there isn't chance that it's shorting. Now, it acts dead if with both the ATX power cable attached and the square 12v connector attached. If I disconnect the 12v, it lights up and the CPU fan spins and doesn't recycle. I haven't connected it to a monitor but I know the 12v is required as that's what powers the CPU.

I've already tried, to no avail, clearing the CMOS by bridging the CMOS clear pins with a screwdriver. I've also tried pulling out one of the DDR2 SDRAMs.

Anyone experienced anything like this? This is the first time I've had such difficulty and I've assembled many systems.

Hi there MTA.
I've seen this errors on a couple of new builds. One time the cause was the RAM. It wasn't setup correctly in bios, and kept trying to default to something the board didn't like.
Normally the fix for that though is just installing one stick, then you can get into bios and change setting. But apparently that won't work for you.
So my next guess, is the CPU overheating? Id the HSF on secure?
Double check that.
Also, if you want to clear the CMOS, just pull the battery off the board for about 5 mins. I've tried to clear the CMOS with a screwdriver like you talking about, but I never got it to clear like that. Try the battery, see if that helps.

What's the full specs of the tower in question also? make sure you include your PSU specs also..

I don't know the brand of PSU but it was working for 4 years with the old mobo/CPU/RAM setup.

The GPU is a Zogis GeForce 8600 PCIe.

I'll call Gigabyte on Monday and see if they have a clue. The board just may be defective.

MTA the key word on this is 4 yr old psu. Does the psu have the 4 pin psu plug in. The older psu did not come with the 4 pin additional psu plug. Take a quick peek and see. If you have another psu give it a swing before calling gigabyte. You know how much fun HD are.

I spoke to Gigabyte today. They asked me to test it without the CPU installed but with the CPU fan connected. If it powers on in this state, they said it's not the board but the CPU. I'll try it and see.

I'm having this problem too...

I'm having the exact same problem! When I hit the power button the board comes on for a split second. All the LEDs on the board (that apparently light up with CPU usage) light for that split second. The CPU fan spins, as does all the fans connected to the motherboard/PSU.

I first had this problem with my Q6600 processor and figured maybe the BIOS was too old or something so I borrowed my neighbor's CPU (an E4300 I think) and the same thing is happening.

I've tried 2 different PSUs as well (a Corsair 550 and a GIGABYTE "Odin" 800, both virtually brand new).

If I remove the CPU it stays on (as in: the fans continue to spin). If I remove the auxiliary 12v connector it'll stay on. I've tried unplugging everything except the aux 12v, motherboard power, CPU fan, and power switch wire (removed RAM, video card, and all case fans). But that doesn't help.

I'll try removing the battery for a while...

[later]...
OK, I left the battery out for probably around half an hour. I also tried the motherboard with just the CPU fan connected and the fan ran. The thing is, I put my neighbor's CPU back into his computer and of course it still works fine, so that's BS. I'll try one last install of my processor (now that the BIOS thoroughly cleared).

I ended up replacing the mobo with an Abit ip35 Pro. It posted from the start. The problem I'm having is with lack of IDE connections. My old one had four channels, giving me up to 8 IDE drives. I use two DVD burners and on IDE HD with a SATA HD as backup. The C drive is the IDE.

I connected the IDE HD to the one IDE channel and when booting I get "disk error. press cntl-altr-del to restart." I doubt there is anything wrong with the disk as it booted flawlessly before the upgrade. I bought a SATA DVD burner and will connect it so that I can boot the Win XP disk and do a repair.

Welp, I returned the motherboard to Newegg and got a new one (an Intel DX38BT). It fired right up first try. By the way, this new board is an "Open Box" deal from Newegg. It came in bubble wrap, there wasn't a SINGLE accessory (not even the back plate), the entire back side of the board was covered in some kind of residue (like the previous owner spilled something all over it), and the board had quite a curve to it (I suspect the curve was from being tightly wrapped in bubble wrap).

Good point. I guess I wasn't thinking about a whole lot more than "get a cheap board" when I picked this one out. This is the closest to a "generic" motherboard I've ever bought. I figured $130 for an x38 based motherboard was about as good of a deal as I was going to find.

If the board doesn't let me overclock I'll probably read up on the "tape trick" for my q6600.